(Minghui.org) A 63-year-old resident of Langfang City, Hebei Province has been denied family visits since she was admitted to Ward 14 of the Hebei Province Women’s Prison on December 19, 2023 to serve time for practicing Falun Gong, a mind-body practice that has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party since July 1999.
Ms. Fan Meiling was arrested on March 2, 2023, sentenced to 1.5 years and fined 5,000-yuan on August 17. Her appeal was rejected on October 24 and she was transferred to prison on December 19, 2023.
Ms. Fan’s family asked to see her but their request was denied. The prison authorities claimed that a policy issued by the Hebei Province Prison Administration Bureau barred Falun Gong practitioners who were on strict management from having family visits. “Strict management” is a form of punishment imposed on newly admitted Falun Gong practitioners in many Chinese prisons, when they refuse to renounce their faith.
Ms. Fan’s family asked to see the policy, but the prison did not provide them with a written copy of the policy (if the policy exists). Ms. Fan was later allowed to call her family once but the call was cut off after a few minutes. Her family filed a complaint with the Hebei Province Prison Administration Bureau and was told that the call was cut off because Ms. Fan told her family on the phone that the prison was trying to force her to admit she was guilty because she practices Falun Gong.
Ms. Fan’s family made multiple requests to have phone conversations with her again but has not received a response from the prison at the time of this report. They also called the Hebei Province Prison Administration Bureau several more times and were always told that the Bureau would forward their phone call requests to the prison. When nothing happened, Ms. Fan’s family called the prosecutor-in-residence in the prison. The person was very rude and kept repeating the communist regime’s slanderous propaganda against Falun Gong.
Arrest and Sentencing
Ms. Fan, from Chifeng City, Inner Mongolia, was arrested at her rental place in Anci District, Langfang City on March 2, 2023. The arresting officers from the Nanmenwai Police Station took her to the Langfang City Detention Center and delegated her case to their subordinate, the Wenan County Domestic Security Office.
Prosecutor Chen Jianfeng of the Wenan County Procuratorate indicted Ms. Fan on March 15 and forwarded the case to the Bazhou City Procuratorate on April 17. Prosecutor Yang Yubiao then submitted the case to the Bazhou City Court on May 17.
Ms. Fan stood trial on July 27 and was sentenced to 1.5 years and fined 5,000 yuan on August 17. The Langfang City Intermediate Court ruled on October 24 to uphold the verdict.
For details of Ms. Fan’s latest prosecution and past persecution, see the related reports listed below.
Related Reports:
62-Year-Old Hebei Woman Loses Appeal Against Wrongful Conviction for Practicing Falun Gong
Inner Mongolia Woman Arrested After Five Years in Hiding to Avoid Being Persecuted for Her Faith
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